It's Never Real Snow
by Solstice Zero
Summary: A bit of an end-tag to my story "As Thorns Thrust Away", by request.


_**Author's Note: **Hello! RhianaStar messaged me today and asked for a tag for "As Thorns Thrust Away" about Ianto's visit with Rhiannon. I thought that the idea was brilliant and would work perfectly as a oneshot, so here it is! I hope that those of you who liked that story will enjoy this little addition. _

* * *

"Uncle Ian-to!" Mica pulled on the sleeve of his coat, accentuating each syllable with a tug, "come pla-ay!"

"Mica, let your uncle alone now." Rhiannon spun her daughter around and pushed her gently toward David. "Go play with your brother."

Mica made a face but trudged carefully away over the slick layer of new snow. Rhiannon settled back onto the stoop beside Ianto, wrapping her coat tighter around herself. He was quiet, staring out at the falling snow, his face unreadable. But for the desperate sadness apparent there. She watched him carefully, an unrelenting frown drawing lines in her brow.

"Ianto," she said quietly, finally, laying a hesitant hand on his knee. "What happened to you?"

Ianto just shook his head, casting his gaze higher, toward the heavily clouded sky, toward the gaps that shone with stars. He let out a breath that frosted in the dark.

Her frown deepened. "I don't see you for almost a year and then you show up out of nowhere half-crying on my doorstep and won't tell me-"

"Rhiannon," he interrupted, finally looking at her, putting his hand on top of hers. She stopped. She wound her fingers through his. He relaxed and leaned slightly against her.

"I had a bad day at work," he said quietly.

"Did it have something to do with the mobiles and telly going down today?"

Ianto glanced at her. He'd almost forgotten that she knew he worked for the government. He nodded and settled further against her, listening to the nylon hiss of her puffy coat.

She squeezed his hand. "You must have been run off your feet. But it worked out all right, yeah?"

Ianto let out a miserable laugh but said nothing. They were quiet for a moment, listening to the sounds of the kids and Johnny playing.

"Who was it that dropped you off? That car was quite flash."

Ianto turned his head to look off down the road, as though following the wake of the SUV. "My boss."

She raised a brow at him. "Why'd he do that?"

Ianto shrugged. "Didn't want me driving. Overprotective."

Now she looked off down the road herself. "Odd for a boss to do though, isn't it?"

Ianto sighed. "Not for Jack." He stopped leaning against her and instead leaned back on his arms, following David's charge across the yard with his eyes. "How are you, Rhiannon?"

She sighed, eerily similar to Ianto's. "Johnny's still unemployed. Daft sod can't keep a job for more than a year. I don't know how much longer we can keep on with just handouts. Mica'll be needing some new clothes soon."

Ianto turned his head to look at her. "You know you can always ask me for help."

Rhiannon flapped the offer away. "We manage. Your money's your money. You already spoil David and Mica rotten every time you see them."

Ianto allowed a miniscule smile to appear on his lips. "That reminds me-" He leaned forward and took his wallet out of his back pocket, calling, "David!" David stopped packing a snowball between two gloved hands and came over. Ianto held out two 20 pound notes. "Give one to your sister."

David nodded and started away, but Ianto caught his arm before he turned. His face stern, he said, "Make sure it gets to her." Looking a bit sour, David nodded again and went off around the house, where Mica and Johnny had drifted, to find her.

Ianto put his wallet back into his pocket and leaned back again. In doing so, he caught Rhiannon's smirk. He frowned. "What?"

"Nothing, nothing," she said, smiling up at the sky. "Think the schools'll be closed tomorrow?"

Ianto looked up, too.

_("It isn't real snow."_

"_It's never real snow.")_

He shook his head, as though to drive the thought away.

Rhiannon sighed. "What good is having a brother in the government when he can't even-" She cut off, caching the suddenly distant, suddenly miserable expression on Ianto's face. She slowly lifted her hand and put it on the back of his head. "Ianto, really." She peered at him, her frown back in full force. "What happened?"

He shook his head again, but this time because he couldn't speak; his heart was in his throat, his face hot against the freezing air. He put his head in his hands and let out one low, harsh cry, which was lost in the wind. Rhiannon pulled him back to her, wrapping her arms around him, holding his head against her chest. "It's all right," she whispered, rocking slightly back and forth as Ianto gripped her coat. "It's all right."

"I'm sorry," Ianto said against her, around a hiccupping sob.

She shook her head, feeling a lump in her own throat. "Whatever it is, it's fine." She rubbed his back, looking once more up at the sky. "The snow's stopping."

Ianto sniffed, then took a breath and pulled away, reaching his hand out to touch the diminishing fall of snowflakes. "Good," he said quietly.

Rhiannon glanced at him, then stood, brushing off her jeans. "Come on," she said, offering him her hand. "I'll make you a cup of tea."

He looked up at her, then smiled a bit and grasped her hand, standing. "All right."

She turned and opened the door, then began to step inside, but Ianto stopped her, still holding her hand on the stoop. She looked back.

"Thank you," he said, heavily.

She smiled. Then she laughed. "Oh, _get in!_ The face on you!"

Ianto barked a surprised laugh and allowed her to roughly usher him inside, and she closed the door against the cold and the dark.


End file.
